Alyce in Flames
by Obsessionista
Summary: Alyce Esprit is a cyborg, but she didn't start that way. At a young age she begins a journey to discover the truth and deliver justice throughout the galaxy. Along the way, she meets the Doctor and his companions. Dr.11/OC, very little S5 material.
1. Prologue: The Greatest Story Ever Told

Disclaimer: Dr. Who characters, plots, ideas, etc belong to their respective writers, creators, actors, etc. I only own my original ideas and characters (i.e Alyce Esprit, Planet Kyboeria, etc). This story is not written for any form of payment, and is only meant for enjoyment by fellow fans of the series. This disclaimer includes any an all facets of this story in its entirety.

**Prologue: The Greatest Story Ever Told**

_My mother used to tell me stories as a child. Great and wondrous tales of knights and dragons, space-flight and star-pilots...but my favorite was always the one with the man who could fix anything, go anywhere at anytime, and be who ever he chose to be. My mother called him the Fixer, in my mind though, he was the Doctor. And each person he saved was a patient ailing from something only he knew how to cure. I wanted to be like that man, being able to mend and repair everything from a broken toy to a broken planet. More than anything I wanted him to be real, so he could mend my mother's broken heart._

_My father had been a pilot in His Majesty's fleet during the time before the humiliating collapse of His Grace, Lord Inmer III's rule. Her Majesty, Lady Jaliena, overthrew her royal husband and his legions by destroying his reign from the inside out. One by one she corrupted or killed any being who would support Lord Inmer. All until only her husband stood in the way of her rule. Then she murdered him. My father had been the last man to stand between Jaliena and her husband, our king...but it was not to be a good or just day in Kyboeria._

_My mother said that was when the Fixer first appeared on Kyboeria. He told the king's pregnant sister-in-law, Talia, that her child would be the heir to not only the planet Kyboeria, but to an entire galaxy. He instructed her to hide away her child until he or she had reached an age of understanding. The Fixer took the child, at the age of 4, to a new family. The child and the family swore to never speak of the child's royal past or family until the proper age was reached. The child was to keep his or her head down and be good and kind, so that one day he or she could serve justice to the Queen of Kyboeria._

_It is said, among the people of Kyboeria, that the child was a girl and that she lives on as one of the commoners. Day and night the streets are watched by Jaliena's minions. She is ever vigilant against the Child of the Throne. She awaits the day that she catches the royal child, because only then will she truly be the ruler of Kyboeria. My favorite part of the story is always the part my mother makes up. Adventures of grandeur and danger, as the prince or princess tries to regain their rightful place. No one knows what will happen to the Royal Child of Kyboeria because it has not yet come to be. That is why the story of the Doctor and Kyboeria is truly **the greatest story ever told**._


	2. What Have Ye Stolen, Child?

AN: I know there hasn't been any of the Doctor, Amy, Rory, or the TARDIS for that matter, but please be kind and patient. I promise they'll be along soon. I've just got to make sure that Alyce's past is covered and understandable before I go on to the actual story :) Please review at the end! Thanks!

**Chapter One: What Have Ye Stolen, Child?**

_Year: 6,504 on the Planet Kyboeria in the Blue Ring Cluster of the Galaxy Mysteria_

_I knew as I grew older that dissent was growing among the peoples of Kyboeria. Queen Jaliena became more and more ruthless by the day. She had yet to capture the Royal Child; if one even existed. By the time I was 14, I was ready for adventures of my own. I no longer needed the tales of my youth. But sometimes, in the darkness of the nights and the greyness of the mornings, I can still hear her- my mother, reciting the words of the Doctor and Kyboeria. But that is not where we are in my story. Oh no, there is much yet still to tell, and so tell I will..._

The wind blew through Alyce's hair as she raced through the ally way. Right behind her a cybernetic guard chased, hot on her heels. His breathing was labored as his muscles and machinery worked to move him faster. Alyce knew everything about this class of cyborg though. She could tell you anything you wanted to know about him; his sprocket sizes, his magnification abilities, even his foot and hand mold models. She knew that he would never catch her...if she was smart.

At the end of the ally way, Alyce veered hard to the right. Directly behind her, the guard launched around the corner as well. She knew this city as though a map of it was burned behind her eye lids. A few yards ahead of her was another side street. Dodging through the booths of food and vendors, Alyce cut to the right and glided down the lane. He was still too close to risk more than a peek over her shoulder. His laser blue eyes were trying to decipher any small detail about her anatomy. _Uh oh..._She knew what would happen if her plan didn't work. Theft was punishable by a removed appendage at best and death at worst. This being about the eighth time she'd been spotted stealing since that very first, very memorable time, Alyce was pretty sure her chance meter was pointing more towards death.

As the lane ended, for a – hopefully – final time, Alyce whipped around the building at top speed. Her breath was beginning to fall short and her calves to burn. A metal grinding shriek brought her up short. Whirling around and almost keeling over, Alyce saw the heavy guard topple over as his leg suspension burst. Electricity sparked from a few loose cords and one of the plug-ins on his leg had melted. _Excellent, it works every time. _Her face suddenly sported a triumphant grin,

"What? You don't have anything to say?" her tongue stuck out as far as it could go, and her hand giving the universal sign for 'up yours', Alyce sauntered away.

"Don't worry, Criminal Number 5227169." The stiff sounding words brought her to an abrupt halt.

"The Kyboeria Extermination Squad has your identification and housing information. Whether or not your person is in the housing facility or not, matters little to them..." The cyborg trailed off for a moment, clearly trying to shut off the human receptors in his brain, "...Do you not have a younger brother...who is a cripple?"

The cyborg's wheezing stopped, which indicated the human half had allowed – or been forced – under the dominance of the machine while waiting for repairs. Alyce's eyes bulged as she realized Lyle would be home alone at this time of day. Her mother would be working at the Domestic Core building and wouldn't be home for hours. Without another thought, Alyce sprang into movement. Her feet carrying her blindly through the city streets until she reached the housing complex.

The walls of the compound rose up before her like a grey tidal wave. Alyce flashed her palm on the screen at the gateway. The steel gates began to open and without waiting, Alyce squeezed through. Her living quarters were on the second floor of the building, where she lived with her brother Lyle and her mother Ratine. Smoke was billowing from an open window on the second level. A small scream drew her attention to the last window, furthest from the flames. _Lyle._ No time to think, as she raced her way up the ladder to the small balcony attached to the back of her housing complex.

"Lyle! Lyle can you hear me? Lyle!" Alyce's voice rang out through the smoke. Lying on his back in the furthest corner of their home, Lyle tried to yell, but it came out more as a gasp.

"Alyce! I'm here Alyce, I'm here in the back room! Help me!"

Alyce pulled herself through the open window at the back of the house. She couldn't risk opening a door that was closed. Everyone knew about the back-draft that would cause, from their fire escape training during primary schooling. Alyce also knew that she had to get inside the house to save Lyle. _This is all my fault. If I had just let it alone like mother said, our home wouldn't be burning and Lyle wouldn't be in danger!_ She could feel the heat coming from the rooms directly behind her and to her right. Heading quickly down the hallway, she tried to keep her head low, out of the smoke. Her mother's bedroom was at the end of the hall, across from her own room. _He must have drug himself to my room, s_he realized. The door was slightly ajar, and Alyce quickly slipped in. There, Lyle was laying in the far corner of the room on his back. His breath was short and quick indicating that he hadn't been there long. Alyce wrapped her good arm around him and began to drag him back out of the room.

"Alyce, we can't go out there! The fire's out there!" he yelled, panic evident in his voice.

"We have to, Lyle. I have to get you out the back window!" Alyce called back over the roar of the flames, "The fire's already spread to the front end of the house." With that, she began to heave him out of the room again. Already the fire had come halfway down the hall. The window she had entered through was covered in the orange tendrils. The tight space was scorching hot and sweat covered Alyce's brow. The only option was the closed back door. However...Alyce only had one hand, and she was using it to carry Lyle.

"Lyle."

"What?"

"You're going to have to open the door. I can't do it while I'm holding you." His eyes grew wide.

"B-but Alyce, you know what the teacher said in Primary! If we open the door we'll feed the fire and it will burn us up!" He cried as Alyce tried to shush his complaints.

"If you open the door while I'm holding you, the fire won't be able to get to you, see? I'll be blocking it's flames the whole time. All you have to do is pull the door open, okay?" Alyce tried to keep herself calm. Was she really about to let her self get burned up by the orange and white flames? No, she couldn't think like that! It was her fault Lyle was in danger, and she had to save him.

"But what about you? The fire will eat you up!" he wailed, fat tears dribbling off his rosy cheeks.

"I'll be okay." she promised, "Fire doesn't eat big sisters, silly!"

And with that, Lyle yanked open the door.

It was hotter than she had expected and it hurt that much worse. Still, Alyce somehow found a way to fling herself and Lyle through the doorway and out onto the balcony. Laying on the ever warming stones of the small space, Alyce lowered Lyle with her good hand, down enough for him to drop safely. But she was getting tired and she didn't know if she could stand and climb down herself.

"Alyce!" Lyle called, "Alyce hurry up and come down! The fire's coming out the door!"

He was right too. Behind her the flames licked up the door frame and sprang across the rug in front of the door. From where she was laying, Alyce could feel the heat on her legs, and her back throbbed in agony. Slowly, Alyce forced herself into a kneeling position. Perhaps she could crawl to the ladder. Each movement stretched and contorted her back painfully, but she kept trudging to the edge.

"Hurry, Alyce, hurry! It's almost to you!" Lyle's voice was beyond panic now. He had pulled himself to the ladder and was waiting at the bottom for her.

"It's okay, Lyle. I'm...coming down." Her voice was shaky despite her determination not to show her brother how scared she was.

Her fingers grasped the ladder and she was surprised to feel it had already heated up. It was no longer cool to the touch. As Alyce tried to move her body into the climbing position, her foot slipped off the step bar. Before she knew what was happening, all her breath was pushed from her lungs and her back felt as though the fire had reclaimed it.

"Alyce."

That voice. It was kind and gentle...and familiar. Someone was touching her.

"Alyce wake up."

"...Lyle?" her own voice was weak and cracked. Someone embraced her while someone else started crying.

"Oh Alyce, we thought you were a goner!" Lyle released her from his grasp. Alyce's eyes fluttered open, her pupils trying to adjust to the light.

"Wha...What happened?" Alyce sat up slowly while looking around the unfamiliar place, "All I remember is telling Lyle...to open the door..."

Ratine, her mother, was perched on the edge of her bed, "Alyce, we're at Sir Tolby's house. Do you remember him? He's our neighbor; one complex over. He has a friend who fixed you nice and good." Another hug ensued, followed by more explanations, "I came home to a house on fire and my two children missing. You can imagine my fright. But as I came around the back I saw you dragging him, Alyce. Burnt as you were, dragging Lyle away from the flames. I could scarce believe my own two eyes!"

Alyce glanced over at Lyle, who was smiling at her as if she were a heroine of some grand tale. Ratine was brushing the tears off her cheeks as she continued,

"Oh Alyce, the man who helped you, his name is Sir Weldon. He- He had to...Well Alyce the burns were so extensive and there was no hope of repairing them...so he had to...Alyce..."

Her mother's fresh onslaught of tears was odd, considering Alyce didn't feel any different. She looked back to Lyle, confused.

"He turned you into one of 'em, Alyce! You're a cyborg now, and it's awesome!" his tone was far more exuberant than her mother.

"A cyborg? But I don't feel any different?" Alyce began to look at herself now. She pulled back the covers with her left hand...

"Wait." Alyce looked at her left arm, "...I have my hand back!" Her legs were much different than she remembered. Her right leg was almost completely electronic, covered in metal plating and plugs and wiring. Her left foot was replaced wholly by a cybernetic version.

"He did your whole back too, Alyce! It's totally metal and now, guess what? No one can stab you in your back! And, and he made you a cool new eyeball to Alyce! I can't believe it! We can be spies now! Or soldiers! Or guards! Or we can be space-pirates and fly around and kill monsters and steal stuff from the bad guys and save people and be really, really awesome!" he gushed, with clear anticipation on his face, "What do you say, Alyce? Let's be super heroes!"

"I...have a new eye?" Alyce repeated, looking to her mother. Ratine simply handed her a small mirror before returning to her tears. It was true. The new eye covered a good bit of her face. It's metal brace wrapped behind her ear, along her neck, and up behind her right ear to meet back above where her old left eye used to be.

"It can see heat – or lack thereof. It can scan and determine most materials. It can save images and messages, as well as play them back for an audience." A man in the doorway said, "And, it can hack into any form of technology. That eye I gave ye is very powerful, and so I must ask that ye stay with me, and learn to use all I have given ye...For the greater good, child, for the greater good."

Sir Weldon was tall, his face ridged and worn as though he had seen every inch of the galaxy. His hair was quite the contrast. It was vibrant orange, the same shade as the flames that had eaten away at her body. Alyce met Ratine's eyes, and her mother nodded.

"As payment for saving you life, Alyce, Sir Weldon has requested that you learn from him, until such a time that you can go out on your own and serve in the name of truth and justice..." Ratine looked away, as though she was afraid of looking at her child anymore, "I agreed to his terms, Alyce."

"I will do as you have promised." Alyce looked at Lyle, "Be good to her and love her, as I love you." He nodded miserably.

"I love you, Alyce." he hugged his older sister as though it was the last time.

"I love you both. And I forgive you mother. I hope you will forgive me."

"Come then child. Yer body is healed and ye have much to learn." Weldon turned and ever so slightly limped down the white corridor. Alyce got slowly to her feet and hugged her mother and brother one last time.

"Will you come back, Alyce?" Lyle's looked close to tears and Ratine began to cry afresh.

"I don't know, Lyle...Maybe one day?" she looked at her mother one last time and then kissed Lyle on the forehead, "Stay out of trouble, okay?" Lyle nodded and leaned back in his new wheelchair, quickly brushing tears from his eyes. Alyce made a mental note to ask Sir Weldon about the chair. Her new foot and leg were strong and solid, but they felt strange to her. Both heavy and light at the same time. Her new eye whizzed around scanning everything, practically on its own. Her restored hand however, was the hardest to get accustomed to. She'd lost her hand seven years ago, at the age of 9, stealing a silvery trinket from a noble's house. At that time she hadn't known all she knew about the cyborg guards. Because of that, she had lost her left hand to a guard's ax. Afterwords, Alyce made it her duty to study each form of guard and to plan and practice how to evade or disable them.

At the end of the corridor, Alyce met up with Sir Weldon. He nodded once to her and continued on down the new hallway. Quietly, Alyce tailed behind him. They made their way across the lower city into the upper city and then onto the giant launch pad used by Kyboerians for public transportation. Sir Weldon did not stop at any of the public ports though and walked to the end of the platform, where a set of massive black metal doors hung. He flashed some papers at the cyborgs standing guard and they were on their way. Behind those metal doors was the most beautiful, tiny ship Alyce had ever laid eyes on. Granted, she hadn't met too many star-pilots and had never been on any starships.

"This is the Amaranda Maree, welcome aboard Ms. Esprit." Sir Weldon bowed a fraction of an inch and indicated that she should get in, "We've got six days travel before we leave the Blue Ring Cluster, and several more before we're out of the Mysteria Galaxy. After that, we've got to get a hold of an old friend of mine..."

Alyce nodded a little, and hesitantly climbed inside the Amaranda Maree. She was shocked to find the inside was much, _much_ larger than the outside. Quizzically, she turned to Sir Weldon who was closing them in.

"Is this even real?" her human eye struggled to take in everything, while her cybernetic eye went on the fritz, scanning each object it landed on.

"What do ye think?" His eyes bored into her own, but she felt no fear towards this man, "Now, I've a very important question to ask ye child..."

"What?"

"What have ye stolen, child?"


	3. The Starling in the Ring

AN: Alrighty! So we have some Doctor, Amy, and Rory in this chapter. I'm not sure I portrayed them very well and any feedback in that area would be oh so lovely. Also, this should be the last chapter of pure back-story for Alyce. The actual adventure starts here :) So please enjoy and review at the end! Thanks!

Revised: Please note that the "sparrow" has been changed to a "starling" and the reasons why will be revealed soon!

**Chapter Two: The Starling in the Ring**

_Year: 6508 on the Starship Amaranda Maree in the Red Wing Belt of the Starcloud Galaxy_

_I traveled with Sir Weldon for four years before we ever found his friend. Weldon taught me much in those few years. He showed me how to utilize every aspect of my eye, how to control how much strength I put into my cybernetic features, and of fcourse, how to spot a traitor. After the first six months, I began to bond with my metal half and after a full year, I trusted it implicitly. We traveled through a few nearby galaxies and righted what I believed to be many wrongs. Never once was I allowed to return to my home planet though. However, my homeward trek was to begin before I even had begun to find a way to start it on my own. For on the day before my 20th birthday, Weldon found his long, lost friend. And that is were we are in my story, and there is much to tell, so tell I will..._

"Alyce Esprit, child for the last time, I'll tell ye that doesn't go _there_!" Weldon yelled, "Ye put the red rebooting cord into the plug-in by the yellow trip wire's socket! Not the green auto-repair! That one goes on the other side by the other end of the red reboot wire! How many times to I have to show ye this? Are you even using that eye I gave ye?"

Alyce winced at the man's exasperated outburst, but it didn't stop her from being sassy, "At least I know how to use a self propelled glide-board. When's the last time you tried to do that? Hmm? It was like you were trying to get me to mess up my leg, old man! Is that it? You were so embarrassed that you had to sabotage me? What a joke!"

"Me? A joke? Did ye hit ye head too, lassie? I'll have you know –" but Weldon never did get to finish his retort as there was suddenly an odd sound filling the Amaranda Maree.

"For the love of stars, what _is_ that?" Just as the words finished tumbling from Alyce's mouth she glanced up, "Let me rephrase, what is _that_?" In the middle of the bridge a large, dark blue box sat as though it had been there all along. Weldon had since quit paying attention to Alyce and was making his way over to the object. Alyce quickly fixed the tangled mess of wires and plugs on her right knee and followed after her mentor. When the door to the box popped open, she thought she would go into cardiac arrest. But her unique eye took over and scanned the box for her, bringing her as much information as possible. Numbers, codes, percentages all sped past in the reflection of her eye. At last the word TARDIS appeared for her. _TARDIS? What in all the galaxies is a TARDIS? It looks like a big blue box..._, her thoughts however were cut short by a man springing out of the box. In an instant, her cyborg half took over, in an effort of survival. Leaping forward to meet the man, she shoved him up against the side of the box. His feet hanging a clear foot off the ground. A woman and another man emerged.

"Doctor?" the woman called out, "Doctor, what's going on?"

Alyce looked to Weldon who raised his brow in an obvious manner that showed he was not at all impressed. Without so much as an apology, she released the man, who slid to his feet.

"Well, Weldon old friend, that's not how I expected to be greeted! I thought you called for me?" he looked expectantly at Sir Weldon.

"I called for ye _four years_ ago!"

"Four years? No, I'm quite sure it was just a moment ago..." the man answered, straightening his bow tie.

"Like hell. I called for ye four years ago, and that's that!" Weldon's face was as red as his hair, "We've been workin' like dogs for four years just a waitin' for ye to show up! Kyboeria's ready! I'm ready! The Princess is ready! My _cyborg_ is ready for star's sake! What kept ye so long?"

"Four years you say?" the man leaned in as though to tell a grave secret, and Weldon and Alyce moved their faces closer to hear, "...Terribly sorry! I'm here now though, and I'm the Doctor! So we'll fix this up, no problem!" Weldon's face grew tight with annoyance before relaxing with the realization that his friend had finally come to help.

"Right, uh well, we'll need to start with a plan. Ye can't just go off like a mad hatter like ye did last time." Weldon looked to Alyce for a moment before continuing, "This here is Alyce Esprit. She's a Kyboerian by birth. I saved her after a slight run in with some fire, but that's all past now! She's right as rain and ready to help ye in any way she can."

Alyce's face pinched with aggravation, _It's not like I can't hear you, Weldon. I'm standing right next to you! And who is this loon? And what in all the stars is he wearing on his neck?_ The Doctor, as he called himself, reached forward and grabbed Alyce's metal hand.

"Lovely name, Alyce Esprit! Just like a fairy tale." He shook her hand quickly, "And I'm the Doctor. I'm here to help out old Weldon over there! He seems to have misplaced his Princess and her family!" Weldon gave the Doctor a dirty look, before turning back to the others who had exited the _TARDIS_ as well. Alyce's eye scanned over both of them. _Earth – Homo-sapien – Female. Earth – Homo-sapien – Male_, flashed in her left eye. _Earth? I've heard of Earth before. Mom used to tell me stories of knights that road on four legged animals and fought huge lizards called Dragons. I wonder if these two fight Dragons too?_ Alyce glanced at Weldon for reassurance. You never quite knew who to trust in the Red Wing Belt; too many bandits and rogue star-pilots to trust just anyone. The Doctor's gaze followed Alyce's between his companions and her mentor.

"Oh right, right! These are my friends, Amy Pond and Rory Williams! Amy, Rory, this is a good friend of mine, Sir Weldon. He needs our help to restore the Princess to the throne of Kyboeria or the entire Mysteria galaxy will collapse."

Amy's face screwed up with confusion, "Collapse? Why?"

It was Weldon who answered, "The Mysteria Galaxy must be ruled by one of true blood. Jaliena married into the royal line, so she's _not_ of true blood...she's not of true anything. It's our duty, Alyce, as upholders of truth and justice, to remove her from the throne. Do ye understand me, child? This is what ye have been training for these past four years. The good Doctor here, is just...insurance that our plans will go accordingly."

"Right. Return to Kyboeria, gain entrance to a planet that has my face pasted on arrest and execute warrants, overthrow the demented and paranoid Queen Jaliena, and put the Princess – who I might add is _missing_ at best and _non-existent_ at worst – on the throne, all while somehow not being discovered or killed while doing it? Sounds like an adventure, Weldon. And adventures, as you know, are my forte." Alyce winked at the young man named Rory, who was staring at her cybernetic eye. He gulped and scooted closer to Amy. It was silent a moment before the Doctor suddenly clapped his hands and Alyce visibly jumped. His exuberance and unpredictability unsettled her. She was used to planned movements that were exacted before being put into action. In short she was a calculator and the 'good Doctor' seemed to be everything but.

"Right! Well, no time like the present – what do you say old chap? Ready to find your Princess and put her on a throne?" he grinned at Weldon, who in turn grasped his hand.

"Of course! I've been waiting four years for this! Alyce, child, are ye ready for the adventure of a life time?" Weldon looked to her. But before she could answer, the Doctor was clapping Weldon on the back and laughing.

"I'd hardly call it the adventure of a life time, friend! But indeed it will be exciting. Wouldn't you say, Amy? Rory?" Both of his companions cringed a little at this. It made Alyce wonder what he had drug them through to make them so wary of this new mission. After a few moments of silence, the Doctor busied himself with "preparations and planning" along side Weldon. Alyce felt no need to join in, as she could easily record the information with her eye, including any maps or written material they might have. To avoid the awkward feeling surrounding the Amaranda Maree, Amy and Rory retreated into the dark blue box, the _TARDIS_. Alyce still had trouble understanding the object. Why travel in that thing when they could have the Amaranda? Puzzled she walked past Weldon and the Doctor to investigate.

Opening the door of the TARDIS was like walking into a memory. The inside was much, much larger than the out. Her eye went on the fritz again, just as it always did in a new environment. It cataloged any and all available information, before looking for hacking points. Amy and Rory were up on a circular platform that ringed what her eye told her was the control panel. They both looked up at her when she approached.

"I don't mean to intrude..." Alyce started, but then changed her mind, "Well, actually I do. I was wondering why he bothers traveling in this?"

"He?" Amy's brow scrunched a moment, "Oh you mean the Doctor? This is his TARDIS–"

"I know." Alyce interrupted, looking around. She longed to explore every inch of the odd shaped ship, but she didn't know if she could trust these people...and she was sure Weldon wouldn't approve of her stooping around his friend's ship without permission.

"You know?" Amy repeated. Alyce tapped her electronic eye in response. "Well, the TARDIS isn't just a space ship. It can go anywhere you like, forwards, backwards, sideways – anywhere you want in time! The Doctor travels through time and fixes things."

"Fixes things? How so?" Alyce's mind whirled back to the stories Ratine used to tell her. _It's not possible, _her mind argued, _He was just a story!_

"Yeah, he fixes things...Like when something's wrong and it's going to end up destroying a planet, a moment in history, a galaxy...Like your galaxy. That's why he's here. The TARDIS brought us here from almost 4500 years ago." Suddenly her voice wavered, "Well I think 4500 years ago. The screen says that it's the year 6508 now...It was the year 2010 when Rory and I first left with the Doctor..."

"Actually, this is the year 6508 as it pertains to Kyboeria, Amy. The year on Earth would be roughly 3050 A.D." the Doctor had entered the TARDIS, along with Weldon, "The year marker of 6508 is indicating how long the planet Kyboeria has been in existence. It was created 6,508 years ago by the first King–"

"Juld the Imposing." Alyce interrupted, "Which would mean nothing in comparison to the years that Earth has been around. 6508 is simply a marker in time for Kyboeria." Weldon gave Alyce a disapproving look. Amy nodded dimly, unsure of what to make of the cyborg. She seemed standoffish and almost rude. Not yet had the cyborg said anything close to 'hello' and she had simply barged onto the TARDIS. In fact, Amy thought, she'd be lucky if the rude, metal woman hadn't over heard what she and Rory had been discussing – namely the cyborg herself.

"Right, Alyce Esprit, right you are!" he looked around the room a moment before continuing, "We'll need to make our way to Planet Kyboeria then. Weldon, you know what to do."

Outside of the TARDIS, Alyce stood behind Weldon to his right. He sat in his chair, all sorts of levers and gadgets surrounded him. He pushed a few buttons, flicked a switch, and turned two knobs before leaning back in a relaxed pose. Alyce's left hand gripped the back of the steel chair with inhuman strength, allowing her to keep her loose pose as the starship shot forward at top speed. It was clear to her that Weldon was more than eager to complete this mission. She'd never seen the gleam of determination in his eyes more clearly. _This is his life's work, _she mulled over the last four years of her life. Every mission he had sent her on, every training she had completely took them one step closer to this moment. The Doctor shifted in his seat to their right. _I still don't believe that he's mother's Fixer...He couldn't possibly be __**that**__ doctor! He's a child's fairy tale for star's sake!_ Alyce's eye though told otherwise, reading '_unknown_' in her eye's reflective lens. How he could be an 'unknown' form of life was odd to Alyce. She supposed it could be due to Weldon either leaving out the information or, more likely, that Weldon didn't have the information in the first place. Only time would tell. For now, Alyce focused on the task at hand. Returning and gaining access to Kyboeria. Which meant, her family as well. Perhaps now, after four years of toiling in nearby galaxies, clusters and belts, Alyce could finally reunite with the brother she loved and the mother she had forgiven. She only hoped her mother had forgiven her in turn.

"Weldon, is there any chance that I might get to see them?" her voice was small and timid, compared to her usual authoritative tone. Her single grey, human eye looked out across the universe, fighting against tears. Her electronic eye however, remained on Weldon, scanning his features for the truth. In all honesty, Amy thought it was creepy. Chills ran down her spine at how the human half of the girl could be crying while the electronic half was calculating and cold. It made Alyce appear to have two persons living in the same entity. Rory vehemently agreed with this. He clutched Amy's hand a little tighter, when suddenly _the eye_ settled on him. It's laser was a deep purple, and it never – _never –_ blinked.

When the eye turned away, Rory felt his breath come back to him. "It's a little scary, don't you think? The way she just _looks_ at you...Like she's tellin' you she's watchin' you." Amy rolled her eyes at him.

"It's not that scary, Rory. Besides, she kind of _was_ watching you." Amy tried to keep her voice as low as possible. But it didn't seem to matter anyways, as Alyce was firmly focused on Weldon again.

"Well? Will I get to see Lyle and Ratine again, Weldon?"

He looked up at his young charge. Only 18 and already she had lost so much. A hand, a foot, an eye...even the skin on her back. Weldon didn't think he had the heart to tell her that Ratine had been killed – in Alyce's place to boot. He had received the message only a month after taking Alyce away from Kyboeria. Lyle had been forced into the Queen's service that same day. He had wanted to tell Alyce so many times during the last four years, but his mission was of a greater importance. He loved Alyce like a daughter, but he was on a quest to save hundreds of other people's daughters strewn across the galaxy Mysteria. If he didn't get the Princess on the throne soon, the whole of the galaxy would collapse. And all that he had done and fought for would be for naught. Alyce's father's death would have been in vain. Not even the Doctor could fix the galaxy if the Princess wasn't put on the throne as quickly as possible.

"We'll see if we can find them, Alyce, but no promises. And we won't be able to look for them until after the Princess is on her throne. Do ye understand, child?" He looked at Alyce pointedly.

"Alright, alright! But exactly _how_ are we going to find our missing Princess?" her eyebrows rose and her demeanor became expectant.

"Do ye still have that tiny trinket ye stole eleven years ago, child?" Alyce had no idea what the trinket had to do with their plans, but she fished the chain it hung on out of her shirt. The ring that dangled from the platinum chain was exquisite. A small starling, its tail reached around until it tucked under the bird's beak, its wings out-stretched, and it seemed to fly in a circle that wrapped around a person's finger. But try as she might, Alyce could never get the ring to stay _on_ her finger. It would fall off almost immediately in some strange way, as though the ring itself was rejecting her. Despite the ring being masterfully crafted, and its details the finest, there was an element lacking from its appearance.

"I do." she pulled it off the chain and held it out to him. Weldon took it and inspected it in the light, then tossed it to the Doctor.

"Do ye know what that is, Doctor?"

"Not at all, but I'm sure you'll tell me." he said cheerily.

"It's a lineage marker. Only a person of a specific lineage can wear it." Weldon explained.

"But it's just a ring – a pretty ring – but a ring none the less." Amy said, looking nonplussed.

"No, lassie! Not just a ring! Here, try puttin' it on." Weldon handed her the silvery starling. Amy accepted the ring and placed it on her finger and then stuck out her hand for everyone to inspect.

"See?" she said, just as the ring flung itself from her finger, "Wait! I was wearing that! What just happened?"

"The ring will not allow someone of a different blood line to wear it. It will find any way it can to remove itself from their finger. I had to make Alyce that chain so that she could keep it close. That ring will only rest of the hand of the Princess of Kyboeria. It is Jaliena's one fear in all the universe, that some young woman would wear that ring." Weldon's gaze settled on the ring, as the Doctor inspected it closer, scanning it with his screwdriver.

"It's called 'The Starling in the Ring.' And it has been passed down for thousands of years, starting with Juld the Imposing." Alyce stated, taking the ring back into her possession, "I stole it when I was 7 years old on a dare. I foolishly accepted that dare, and lost my left hand to the Kyboerian guards. I managed to hide it though, before I was captured."

The Doctor looked at the ring again, as it hung around Alyce's neck. There was a piece to the puzzle he was missing. What was it he couldn't figure out about this cyborg? She seemed to have attachment to things and she showed human emotion. In fact, her voice was even human. There was no computerized quality to her speech. He would discover the hidden facts at some point, but his main focus was on the goal at hand: saving a galaxy from being destroyed. His eyes met Alyce's – a mix of human and machine – before asking,

"_The Starling in the Ring_, you say?"


	4. Home Coming Blues

AN: Sorry if anything so far has confused or misled any readers. I want Alyce to seem full of mysteries and the reader to only know what's revealed. So no real 'connect the dot' moments at this point. For now, everything about Alyce should stand as a seperate entity. Like a book with missing pages, at some point in the plot absolutely everything will be clear, but at the moment she's a big puzzle to everyone including the Doctor. Also the reader maybe aware of some fact that, say the Doctor isn't. That doesn't mean that it's inaccurate, just incomplete for the Doctor's POV. Please enjoy reading and of course, review with thoughts/issues!

**Chapter Three: Homing Coming Blues**

_I didn't know what to expect of this journey...or our new companions for that matter. I had a hard time trusting anything the Doctor did, and Amy and Rory's secret whisper sessions had me on edge at all times. Weldon didn't seem to notice at all and would have probably been offended had I pointed any of this out. So I was stuck feeling like the odd man out on the entire voyage back to my home realm. I was irritated and distressed. Feeling as though someone was plotting against me and wishing I could go to my family immediately, had my human side feeling emotionally drained. I was also nervous, because I had yet to discover what plan the Doctor truly had to restore the Princess to her throne. I decided to come up with my own plan, just in case the spontaneous Doctor failed to do so. And that is how my journey home began, and there is much more to tell, so tell I will..._

Amy and Rory stayed far away from Alyce on their trip back to Mysteria. It took an entire eight days to reach the outer systems of the galaxy. Each day was bringing Alyce closer to fulfilling her promise to Lyle. _Oh how I miss him. I wonder how he and mother have been since I left?_, she pondered, _It's been four whole years. Surely the guards have left them alone by now._ A whisper caught her attention and her left eye whizzed around to focus on Amy and Rory. Both of them were hissing secrets at each other and trying to look calm. It irritated Alyce that they couldn't get over her status as a cyborg. _It's not like I was born this way._ She remembered back to the day of the incident and wondered if her mother had forgiven her yet. She'd have to wait until after the Princess was throned to find out.

"All's clear and open. Alyce, take over for me. Keep her steady too, child. None of us are as stable as ye are on a ship. I doubt a supernova could shake ye to yer knees." Weldon removed himself from the chair that sat low on center bridge. Alyce moved forward to take his place. Immediately, cords and wires began to attach themselves to the ships motherboard. Her artificial hand and fingers began to work themselves into the control deck. Her human eye caught Amy and Rory's heads leaning in again.

"Cybernetic-Humanoid space-flight...Interesting." Doctor said from her right, "I wonder how Weldon comes up with such good ideas."

"I come in handy." Alyce replied, as her prosthetic eye began to flash a white light like a becon. The Doctor leaned forward to watch it for a moment, before pulling out his screwdriver. He held it up before her to see.

"Do you see this? It's basically the same as you eye, I'd imagine." he wiggled the screwdriver in front of her.

"That's exactly right." Weldon said from the upper bridge, "Got the idea from ye the first time I met ye. Although her eye's not any form of physical weapon. I suppose ye could use her eye to take over a machine to make it do the killin' for ye." Alyce felt sick at the mention of using her eye. It would mean someone would be using her, like a slave. _Again they're talking about me like I'm someone's property._ Almost as soon as she thought it, she realized it was true. Weldon had forced her out of her home – despite the fact that she didn't fight or resist – and had used her and planned to use her still to fulfill his own goals. Directly after this thought crossed her mind, another one fired away. _But Weldon's never been harsh or cruel to me. He's been nothing but a father to me. I should be ashamed of even thinking he's being underhanded._

"No a weapon, you say? Well can't say I don't like that!" he grinned at Alyce, "Don't like weapons, never have and never will. I say, Alyce Esprit, you are interesting!"

"Weldon, three carrier ships approaching on the starboard side. Continue the determined route or deviate to avoid detection?" It shocked Amy to hear the monotone sound that came from Alyce's mouth. Her human eye had gone blank and glazed over as though she were dead or dreaming. Rory squeezed her hand nervously as he spotted the same thing. Under his breath he whispered his concerns about trusting her. However, Amy had started to feel badly. For the past eight days they'd been giving her the cold shoulder and whispered about everything she had done or said. She knew that Alyce had figured out by now that they were sharing secret fears about her. It made Amy feel black inside to do what the children and people in her life had done to her.

"I think we should stop talking about her. I...I feel bad about it." Amy stated, her voice as soft as she could manage.

"What? Five minutes ago you hated her and didn't trust her!" Rory accused.

"I know! And look at her! She hasn't made a snide or angry comment yet! It's been eight days, Rory, _eight entire days _of being this critical. Doctor trusts her. Sir Weldon trusts her–"

"Sir Weldon made her! Of course he trusts her!" Rory retorted.

"That's not my point, Mr. Pond. Alyce Esprit is on our side and we've been more than cruel. We need to get over our fears and just suck it up! We're being as bad as all the people in Leadworth!" At the mention of Amy's teasing a child, Rory at least had the decency to look remorseful.

"I guess you're right. But her eye...it's just so _creepy_!" Amy elbowed him in the side just as Alyce's human eye looked over. After seeing her looking, Amy tried to give her a small smile. That only served to have Alyce look away. _I wish she wouldn't try to fix things. It just makes this whole thing more confusing, _Alyce thought as her machine half continued to pilot the craft, following Weldon's instructions to avoid being detected. Even though the approaching ships had only been carriers, it was possible that they could have reported seeing the Amaranda Maree – the last known sighting of Alyce when she fled Kyboeria.

"Doctor," Amy stood up and moved across the bridge – Alyce's piloting was superb – and sat in the chair next to the Doctor, "I don't suppose you've come up with a plan yet?"

"Of course he hasn't!" Rory snarked, "He'll just run in, all 'oh I'll save you!' and then end up captured, 'Ahhh help!' Then at some point you or Alyce will rush to his rescue, and I'll follow you–"

"Stupidly." Amy put in. Rory gave her a dirty look before continuing, "And then I'll be captured too–"

"Stupidly." Amy interupted again.

"And just when everything seems lost, you'll get extremely lucky and somehow manage to break free, 'ooh look at me! I'm free!' and prance around while I'm still tied up – and no, Amy it won't be stupid!" Rory shot a miffed glance at Amy.

"Really I was going to go for pathetically this time..." she teased, giving her husband a wink, "I think he gets it Rory, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't have a real plan." Alyce was glad she had allowed her metal and electric have take over. She was making a plan of her own.

"Don't worry, Rory. I've never gotten us into too tight of a spot!" Doctor grinned at the pair of them.

"Wha! Like dying a few times isn't too tight of a spot!" Rory quipped, "I'll have you know–"

"We're here. Kyboeria Interspace Travel Port. What shall I do, Weldon?" Alyce's strange voice cut off all of Rory's arguments.

"Dock on the furthest port side space. We'll want to deal with the guards quickly and quietly." Weldon pointed to an open docking area on the far left side of the landing pad. Alyce's machinery went to work, doing as Weldon instructed.

"Don't worry about paperwork. I have paperwork!" Doctor stated happily, holding up what looked to Alyce to be a blank identification badge.

"It's blank." she said, her voice dull.

"Of course it is to your prosthetic eye." Weldon explained, "However, to those 'borgs out there, they'll collectively see whatever paperwork they require. It's quite a nice trick and if you didn't rely so much on your left eye, your human eye would be taken in by it as well."

"Good thing to know I can't be tricked by false paperwork. Starshine forbid!" Alyce rolled her human eye.

"Anyone ever told you it's rather strange?" Doctor asked suddenly.

"What is?" Alyce looked at him, befuddled.

"How you do that thing with your eye. One eye goes where ever the computer tells it, but the human eye only responds to the humanity receptors. So instead of moving as a pair they move as seperate limbs often do! It's quite odd really, but interesting. Alyce Esprit, you truly are terribly interesting!"

Rory made gushing faces behind the Doctor as he spoke. Amy, despite her giggling, felt the need to elbow him in the side. It seemed to be of frequence, as Rory took no offense to it. Alyce could see, even without her special eye, that the two belonged together. Alyce began to wonder how the Doctor traveled with them without feeling utterly alone...She knew if she was in his position she would. As it was, the port side landing door was opening and Weldon was waiting for her to get out. _Always the last to know..._she sighed in her mind, _Always the last..._Somehow coming home was beginng to feel wrong.

Getting past the guards had been much easier than Alyce had anticipated. The Doctor did have his uses, she thought with a small smile on her face. At the moment they were hiding in the home of fellow rebels. Gespa and Salzar were in their late 40's which, by Amy and Rory's standards, was halfway through life. However, Alyce was quick to inform them that humans on Kyboeria frequently had cybernetic implants and prosthetics which allowed them to live an average life of 250 years.

"250 years! How is that even possible?" Amy was always full of questions, a trait Alyce both enjoyed and despised depending on the situation. They had been sent on a few trips together to round up other rebels. Since their time together was increasing each day, Alyce had finally allowed her barrier to lower and they had slowly started making progress towards friendship.

"Think of it. New hearts, new kidneys and livers...new whatever is needed, provided you have the money or a child..." Alyce answered, a tinge of bitterness in her voice. It had returned to it's lively, human sound shortly after landing. An occurance Amy had yet to figure out, not that she was going to quit trying to figure out the cybernetic mystery that was Alyce.

"A child?" Rory joined in, his curiousity peaked.

"Plenty of humans on Kyboeria have to many children and too little time. The surgeons are more than willing to take a child or two off a parent's hands in order to let the parent live a little longer...Humans aren't the only ones who trade their offspring either. Most races who want artificial parts are willing to breed just to sell off their progeny."

Rory's face shaped into disbelief and Amy couldn't get the look of disgust to lessen. They came from a planet that had monsters of it's own, Alyce rationalize, why was this any different?

"Each planet as it's own monsters. Some more cruel and disgusting than others, but they're monsters none-the-less." Alyce continued, "Queen Jaliena could have outlawed the practice, but instead she encourages it. She wants people to think she's a supportive and forward thinking ruler. But really she's just a tyrant who's afraid of losing a throne she doesn't deserve."

"Well put, child. I think I've finished yer training." Weldon praised from the floor above. He was leaning on the banister looking down on the three of them, "There was once a time though that Jaliena was kind and compassionate. It's the power that changed her heart."

Just then Salzar returned from his trip. He was soaking wet and his clothes were soiled with street filth. Alyce hadn't realized just how dirty and grungy Kyboeria had become. The planet wasn't terribly large, as it had started as a mere space colony for the nearby planet Boeria when it had reached it's population max. Jurl had comissioned it to hold a total of ten thousand. As Kyboeria's population grew, so did the planet. Alyce's eye had told her, upon arrival just three days prior, that the planet had an estimated 630 thousand and that the population rose at a 13% interval annually. Meaning each year almost 82 thousand more people inhabited Kyboeria. It was no wonder the Princess was to become heir to the entire galaxy. At some point they'd need more room again.

"I've found a score and seven more for the cause. Tucked away, two districts over." he allowed his tired body to fall into an open seat, "They're ready at your cue, Weldon."

"We start our mission in nine days time." Weldon said coming down the stair, "That leaves us eight days to find Her Majesty and one to prepare the way to the throne." The princess' rebels took up the cheer in her name, yelling "The Starling! The Starling!"

It had been so long since Alyce had been to Kyboeria, and it seem the entire city-planet had been falling apart while she was away. Her heart broke for what was once a plentiful and beautiful place. Her mind however, grew ever more worried about her family. _What of Lyle? What of mother? If the this is how East End District looks, how must Lowtown look? _Alyce's family had never been affluent, but the city's state of decay sent chills down her spine – or would have had it not been metal with no nerve endings. The moment Weldon was done 'discussing plans' with the rebels and the Doctor, Alyce pinned him in a private corner.

"Why didn't you tell me Kyboeria was falling apart?" she hissed, trying to keep their conversation between the two of them.

"I never thought it would be so bad, child. I'd've told ye had I thought so and ye know it." Weldon replied. But Alyce's eye told her he was holding information back. Very important information at that.

"What are you hiding from me, Weldon?" He looked away, but she leaned forward and whispered in his ear, "I'll find out anyways. You know I will, old man. You taught me to do no less, and so it will be your own fault if it turns out to hurt or hinder you in any way."

"I wish ye wouldn't dig for it. I'm trying to spare ye, child. But if and when you discover the facts, just know yer best interests were at hand." he didn't look at her again as he walked away, his muscles tensed like that of someone expecting to be backstabbed. Alyce wouldn't ever know what that felt like though, her back couldn't feel anything anymore.

The harder Alyce tried to shake the feeling of dread, the tigher it clung to her. Something was amiss in Kyboeria and it involved the throne and herself. Some how she had to see past her home coming blues to figure out the truth.


	5. All That's Left of Once Upon a Time

AN: Sorry for any mistakes ahead of time :) I just wanted to point out that in this story there is a difference between a cyberman and a cyborg. A cyborg is half machine, half human – a lot like Alyce, only most of them are ruled (by choice or force) by their machine half. Please enjoy and review! Thanks so much!

*Edits: I changed the cat-woman's age from 20ish (Alyce's age) to mid-to-late 30's. Also changed, "Clearly _not_ a perception filter!" to "Clearly _not_ just a perception filter!", a few other minor adjustments were made as well.*

**Chapter Five: All That's Left of Once Upon a Time**

_The days following our return were long and stressful. The weeks after locating the Princess were harder. Once we had the Princess, the rebels began their siege against the Queen. Hundreds of them flooded out of the seams of the city. After only a few short, difficult weeks, the rebellion had Jaliena cornered and desperate. And that is when everything fell apart...At least, for me, and there is so much to tell, so tell I will..._

"Doctor!" Amy shouted, cringing at the sound of shrapnel pelting the titanium walls, "Doctor where are you?"

The entire palace was being stormed, the revolution was well under way, and of course the Doctor had yet to reveal any true planning on his part. Most of the strategy had been done by Alyce – and Amy had to admit, it was brilliant strategy at that. Another tidal wave of panic passed through Amy as she looked around herself once more. Where was everyone? _If I don't do something they're going to kill me! But I don't have any weapons!,_ she thought, her mind full of pure panic, _Where's the Doctor? Rory? Where's Alyce and the rebels?_ Two more rounds of shrapnel pinged along her hiding place, tearing away at her precious and deteriorating defense. Over the desk she was shielding herself with, Amy could see at least three of Jaliena's cyborg centurions marching ever closer. The sound of yet another round of scrap metal being flung through the air caused Amy to scream and hunker low to the ground. She could see the feet of her pursuers steadily moving closer.

A terrible, high pitched sound reverberated through the room. From under the desk, Amy watched not one, not two, but all three centurions fall to the debris strewn stones. Curiosity got the better of her as she peaked over the desk top. There in the smoggy air, she could see someone coming towards her again. Speedily, Amy stuffed herself under the desk as far as she could go. The footsteps silenced themselves and the unknown being leaned on the dented metal surface. Amy released an ear splitting shriek as a hand grabbed her wrist from above. As she was pulled from the hiding spot, Amy recognized Alyce holding her up. Wriggling her toes she asked, "Do you mind putting me down?"

"Do you mind not squealing again?" Alyce clearly looked displeased, "I have very sensitive ears."

"...It wasn't a squeal." Amy replied petulantly, "And besides, it was scary!"

"Sensitive ears, eh Esprit?" Doctor appeared behind the cybernetic woman, "I'll have to remember that. Might come in handy one day."

"For what? Breaking my ear drums?" Alyce's tone was dry and still carried a twinge of irritation.

"Oh, you never know what one might need that information for!" he grinned and pulled out his screwdriver. Once Amy was scanned and the Doctor satisfied with the results, he turned to Alyce in all seriousness, "Now...how do we get out of here?"

"Did you even look at a map once, Doctor?" Alyce sighed, "I mean they were right in front of you the whole time."

"I figured you'd be looking at them." he answered honestly.

"And how did you know you were going to run into me once we got here?" Alyce's eyebrows raised.

"Oh...I didn't. I just followed you off the ship." The Doctor looked pleased with himself, "Like I said, figured you'd be looking at the maps. So no need to memorize them myself, when you have them..." The Doctor leaned close to Alyce and poked her in the forehead, "...all right here!"

"I'm not a toy, Doctor, I'm a cyborg. No need to poke and prod in hopes that I'll light up."

"Oh but it's just so much fun!" he paused at Alyce's glare, "What? Can't have a bit of fun since someone stuck some metal on you? Ah, what a shame, Esprit, what a shame." the Doctor turned to Amy, "Well come on, Pond. We've got to find you a Roman."

Alyce led the trio out of the room into a long corridor that held five halls on each side. _It's a good thing I even bothered to look at the maps, let alone save them. For star's sake what would he have done had I not? Seems like a lot of trust to put in someone he just met, in my opinion, _Alyce huffed in the privacy of her mind, _That man's a loon! And a reckless one at that!_ Alyce continued down the hall until she reached the door at the end. At the last hallway at the left, Alyce found herself being nearly toppled. Catching herself, she found Rory looking at her embarrassed.

"I was just...uhh..."

"Running?" Amy teased, "Since when does a Roman run?"

"Since five really big, really bad guys started chasing him." Rory retorted, looking back down the hall. Alyce followed his example, checking out the hall for herself. He was right; five large metal men where coming down the passage way. She pushed the door in front of her open, and motioned for the rest to pass through.

"This way. It leads to the Queen's chambers. I'll meet up with you after I've...subdued them." Alyce ghosted back down the hall, but not before she heard the Doctor's last remark.

"Subdued? Does she honestly think I don't know what that really means?"

He had begun to grow on her, the Doctor had; albeit like a fungus. But grow on her he did, and so his dislike of weapons was becoming a bit of a complex point for the two of them. The Doctor hated killing, as he preferred to negotiate peacefully instead. Alyce on the other hand, had been made to deliver justice in the eyes of Kyboeria's rebellion; which meant blood and lots of it. Already Alyce had taken many lives. The fact bothered her so much that she had shut down the humanity receptors in her brain, cowering behind her mechanical half. No doubt the Doctor – Amy and Rory too for that matter – thought she was blood-thirsty and ruthless. However, she was only doing as she had been trained to do. Not to mention, those cyborgs wouldn't have stopped unless the Queen issued the command. Still, the fact that she felt dirty and evil was chaffing her – she didn't want to feel like a monster. 

"Doctor?" Amy whispered as they moved through the darkness of the corridor.

"What?"

"Do you think Alyce is alright?" the question felt strange coming out of her mouth. The doubt it expressed brought truth to the matter of Alyce's mortality. Over the last month, Amy had become attached to the distant cyborg. She knew that killing the Queen's men was hard on her. Alyce had confided in Amy her fear of becoming a monstrosity. Asking if Alyce was alright was not only strange...it was redundant. _Of course she's alright. She's Alyce and she's a cyborg. That's like asking if the Doctor's alright. Of course he is. He's the Doctor and he's...well the Doctor. Oh I'm confusing myself and this isn't helping..._Thoughts and ideas fluttered around her mind like gnats on a hot night, bothering her as they niggled at the back her her consciousness.

"I'm sure she is." Doctor held Amy's face, capturing her gaze, "Amy, right now we have to focus on finding the Queen. We don't want Alyce to have to spill any more blood, do we?" _He always knows what I'm thinking and always what to say...But I have a very bad feeling about this...Something's wrong._ Instead of worrying on the matter, Amy nodded and smiled at the Doctor. _He'll get her through this. He won't let her face her fears alone. After all, he didn't make me face mine by myself._ With that Amy felt her confidence restore and her focus return. Rory's footsteps returned to them.

"She's coming now, guys. She's got four guards with her and some nasty looking pet as well."

"A nasty looking pet, you say?" the Doctor repeated, "Well, what exactly does a nasty looking pet look like? Is it big? Is it green?" He turned back towards Rory, "Does it smell?"

"Oh how should I know? I just got one look!" Rory ran his hand through his hair, "It looks a bit like a cat...I think."

The Doctor turned back to him, "You think?"

"Well yeah. It was a little dodgy, but it basically looked like a massive, spotted cat." Rory explained.

"Interesting."

Alyce followed Amy's heat signature back to the group, thankful she had saved the initial reading when they first met. She had Rory's and the Doctor's filed away in her mind as well. They were stowed away in a side hall, branching off the Queen's main walk way. It was close quarters and extremely musty.

"Rory says they've got some kind of a pet cat thing that might give us some trouble." Amy filled her in.

"Pet cat thing?"

"That's what I asked, but did he give me a straight answer?" Doctor moaned, "Noooo. Rory likes to keep it all to himself."

"I'll go up and take a look." Alyce stated with a roll of her eye, "Try not to cry while I'm gone."

Sneaking along the same path Rory had taken, Alyce spied the Queen and her guard. However, there was no giant cat. All Alyce could see was the Queen, four guards and a woman that seemed to be around 35, being led by a chain and collar. After recording a few seconds, Alyce slipped back to the group.

"Well? What did you spy?" Doctor asked eagerly, leaning in close.

"I saw the Queen." she said and he nodded quickly, "and her four guards..." Her pause encouraged more nods by the Doctor.

"And? And?"

"No giant cat thing." Alyce looked into her companions' faces, "Here I'll show you." She pressed a small notch on the frame of her left eye and a hologram sprang forward. The Doctor's face scrunched in disbelief.

"You recorded the giant cat but you didn't manage to catch a peek at it?"

"What giant cat?" Alyce asked, perplexed.

"The big one right there!" he exclaimed.

"Doctor, I don't _see_ a big cat! All I see is the Queen, her guard–"

"I know! I know! The big cat is right there!" he interrupted, pointing to the place where the young woman was walking at the end of the leash.

"...Doctor, that's not a cat." Alyce said, her voice quiet, "It's a woman...on the end of a chain."

"What?" The Doctor's voice lost all its exuberance, "That's not possible. How can you see it – Oh! Stupid question! Stupid! Stupid! Of course it's not a cat! She's got herself cloaked in a perception filter – it's got to be!"

"Doctor?" Amy looked at the hologram again, "If it's a perception filter...then why does she look like a cat on the hologram?"

"Good question, Amy Pond!" he turned and flashed her a grin, "We're going to find out! Come along, Pond, Rory, Alyce! Let's go see what Ms. Kitty Kitty is hiding from us." He stopped and motioned to Alyce, "Well, obviously not hiding it from her. She's got an all seeing eye! Better not try to hide anything, Rory! She'll see right through you!" Rory gulped at the Doctor's warning and inched closer to Amy.

"Oh come on, moron." 

"How many more are past the gates?" Jaliena turned to her captain.

"Too many, Highness. We should evacuate you, Milady, while there is still time!"

"No." she waved to the guard on her left, "Send for the boy. I hear his sister is...home." The guard bowed and exited the room at once. "Captain, take my dear pet out and have her eat someone. I'm sure there are plenty of rebel dogs to be pounced upon."

When no one laughed at her joke, Jaliena tossed her glass of wine across the room, "That was funny! Laugh you idiots or I'll feed _you_ to the little kitty!" 

Alyce waited for the guard to scurry past before motioning to the others. They crept along the wall, keeping to the shadows as Alyce scouted ahead. At the sign, they bolted across the room and joined up with her.

"I'm so glad I'm not a spy." Rory sighed as he leaned on the wall, "The suspense is killing me."

"Are you sure it's not the extra couple of pounds you gained catching back up to you?" Amy poked his stomach. Rory made a face of mimicking Amy's remark before turning to Alyce.

"So, uh, Alyce..." he shrank back a step when she turned to look at him, "Exactly how are we going to get in there? That door must weigh a hundred pounds and we don't have a key." Alyce shrugged and she stood and walked towards the door. Hiking her right, prosthetic leg up she jammed her foot into the metal door. It gave almost immediately, slamming to the ground with a loud bang. She whirled around, facing the group with a pleased look on her face.

"I don't need a key." she winked at Rory, "I have my own."

"Well done, Alyce!" Doctor clapped, "Way to bring down the house! Literally!" With a small bow, Alyce began making her way towards the Queen's private solar.

"If it gets bad – and it may – get under cover and don't come out until I say you can." Alyce instructed. Her eye was whizzing back and forth, on the hunt for enemies. Almost instantly it locked on to a pair of guards standing look out by the solarium's doors. _Typical of a tyrant. Always sure that two is enough!_

"Stay here." Alyce whispered, and jerked her thumb in the direction of the two soldiers, "I'll be back."

Amy couldn't see anything, but the same familiar sound from the room with the desk sounded out from around the corner. She knew without a doubt that Alyce had taken care of what ever threat she had detected. Somehow, knowing that Alyce practically knew what would happen before what happened happened, was comforting. It was along the same lines as the feeling of safety the Doctor gave her. When Alyce returned, Amy could see a glimmer of regret in her one human eye. Reaching out, she grasped Alyce's hand.

"Not a monster." she reassured the cyborg, "Not ever a monster."

"The way is clear." Alyce said in her monotone voice, "Only two guards and a woman between the Queen and I." Amy felt chills zip down her spine as they always did when she heard Alyce's mechanical speech. It always meant that Alyce wasn't there anymore. She was beginning to understand why Alyce feared transformation into a cold, methodical killer. But Amy was sure that's not what truly lay beneath Alyce's distant surface layer. There was more to the cyborg than Amy had tried to see before judging her. Now, she had to trust that the woman before her would keep her husband and her best friend safe.

"Alyce, what did you do to them?" Doctor asked as they walked past the bodies.

"I didn't do anything to them. They did it to themselves." she replied emptily. She hated it when he spoke to her like that. With pity evident in his tone. She didn't need to be pitied, she was just fine! "Stay behind me. It's imperative that you survive, Doctor."

Taking out the lone guard was easy – just a swift knock on the head and he was down. The guard with the woman however was another issue. It took six tries before Rory had successfully lured them down the deserted hallway. When the guard rounded the corner, Alyce knocked him out as well. At the Doctor's insistence, Alyce had agreed to taking no more lives – whether by her hand or not. The woman, who looked like a abnormally sized feline to the rest, was clearly traumatized. In the end, Alyce found it was for everyone's best interest to give her a quick knock as well. She regretted having to do it, and hesitated enough that the frightened woman gave her a large claw mark down her metal thigh.

"Clearly _not_ just a perception filter!" the Doctor chirped as he looked over the woman, "It seems the image only works while she's conscious. I suppose we'll find out _why_, later though!"

"She's cut a few of my circuits, but it shouldn't be a problem. The Queen is alone now, and won't be too much of a fight." Alyce fiddled with her damaged leg.

"Cardinal rule of war, Alyce Esprit: Never underestimate your enemy!" Doctor proclaimed, as he led the way into the solar, "Isn't that right, my lady?"

Jaliena whipped around, her face twisted in anger, "What did you do to my guards?"

"What do you think?" Alyce snapped, "It's not like we came here for tea!"

Oddly, Jaliena's face rearranged itself into a triumphant grin, "Ah yes. I know you...the sister who never came home – home at last, I see."

"What are you talking about? How do you know anything about me?" Alyce's eye scanned over Jaliena, searching for the truth.

"I know _all_ about you, Alyce Esprit." she studied Alyce for a moment, "But the question is, do you know all about it?"

"About what?"

"Oh, well, how your mother died, of course." the queen's grin morphed from victorious to smug, "And how your brother blames you, how he came to me – crawling and begging for his mummy back – and do you know what's happened to him?" She paused for dramatic effect, looking over Alyce's shoulder.

"Of course you don't!" the male voice startled Alyce and she whirled around to see her brother, Lyle in the doorway, "You never did bother to come home...until now! Why is that, Alyce?"

"Oh little Lyle Esprit!" Jaliena purred gleefully, "Imagine that! But don't think he's still your baby brother Alyce. He's all grown up, as you can see!"

Alyce's brain had yet to register that the being before her was Lyle. Nothing about him was familiar. He was at least eight feet tall and could barely squeeze himself through the doorway. Every inch of him, save his head and neck, was metal and wires and plugs. _What in all the stars has happened to him? This isn't Lyle! It's some sick joke!_

"Alyce." Doctor reached out to touch her shoulder. But she was already moving, pinning the Queen to the far window.

"What did _you _do to him?" her grip was getting ever tighter on the Queen's neck, pressing her into the glass, "I should throw you from this window right now!"

Jaliena raised her eyebrows, "Then what's stopping you?" She followed Alyce's glance in Lyle's direction.

"Oh honey, he already thinks you're a monster. That's why he did it, you know. Became a monster to get revenge...on you, of course." Jaliena goaded, victory in her eyes.

"Alyce, get a hold of yourself. You can't kill her." Doctor said, "They need her alive for the ceremony! Remember what you're here for!"

"What I'm here for?" Alyce flung the Queen across the solar, and she landed in a heap, "I was here for my family until I was taken away!"

"Not true!" Lyle interrupted, knocking Alyce to her knees, "You left! You didn't even fight!"

"What choice did I have? She bartered me away after I _saved_ you!"

Alyce rolled out of the way, as Lyle's huge fist crushed the stones where she had been. He moved after her, striking and breaking anything in range.

"Saved me? Ha!" Lyle scoffed, "You ditched me! And the next day, they killed her in your place! She didn't have to die, _you did_!" His fist connected with Alyce's metal arm just as his knee rammed against her already damaged leg. A disgusting crack rang out through the solarium as Alyce dropped down. Across the room, Amy covered her mouth in shock. _How is that possible? No one is stronger than Alyce! She's Alyce!_ She looked to the Doctor for help, but he was halfway across the solar, his screwdriver out as he pointed it at Jaliena. Hope rose in her breast, perhaps they would win after all!

Alyce kneel-ed painfully, knowing full well that her leg was completely broken. She could see fluids leaking from the inside of her artificial limb, and felt faint with the pain her thigh was washing over her. The last time she's felt this dizzy was the day she lost her left hand to a guard's ax. Now she was kneeling at the mercy of her brother - of all people. A shrill cry brought both Alyce and Lyle's attention to the Doctor and Jaliena. He held his screwdriver at the ready, blocking the Queen's escape route.

"No, I don't think so, my lady! Lot's of people want to see you!" he claimed. Instead of listening to the Doctor though, Jaliena turned to Alyce. Her face was ugly with malice and rage.

"She's your sister you know!"

"What?" Alyce looked at the angry Queen as though she had sprouted another limb.

"The Princess you're trying to put on _my_ throne! She's your sister."

"You lie. My family was poor, from Lowtown. It's not possible." Alyce snapped.

"Oh it's possible. You see, Lyle was your brother...your _foster_ brother. My brother-in-law's wife spawned twins. And so they stowed you away, just like they did Princess Blythe. Of course she's the important one though, seeing as she's the oldest. But they couldn't just get rid of you...Besides, you were good insurance that if something happened to little Blythe, that the Esprit family would still rule...Ratine Morgan had only child one child when she agreed to take you in...And look at how you've repaid the family that sheltered you for so long. You destroyed them." It all made sense. All the warnings, all the secrets – everything. Her head spinning, Alyce looked up at Lyle. His face was marred by hatred.

"She's not lying. You killed _my_ mother. You took her away from me!" his voice shook with a loathing beyond words.

"Well it doesn't matter now." Doctor said as he motioned towards the door, "Like I said, people waiting, things to do, yada yada yada." He jabbed his screwdriver at Jaliena who stepped towards the door. Alyce knew he was going to move before he could even act, and as Lyle lunged forward Alyce forced herself to rise up and meet him. She might have let Ratine down, but she was not going to let Lyle hurt the Doctor. She felt the bolts on her shoulder start to give as he bore down on her, desperate to get to the man behind her.

"Doesn't matter?" he yelled, "Doesn't matter? I'll kill you! I'll rip you into so many pieces you'll wish you'd never set foot in this city!"

"Run!" Alyce gasped, "Run, Doctor!" When she saw him hesitate, she shouted at Amy, "Get him out of here now! Amy! Rory! Go!" Her metal arm began to weaken as the cords found themselves ripping and her plugs began to melt as she overheated. Just when she thought that she would be crushed into oblivion, Lyle's weight went limp. Exhausted, she felt herself fall back down to the floor. Tears blurred her human eye as she searched for an answer with her left. Above her stood the woman she'd knocked out earlier. In her hands were the ends of cables and wires that she had presumably pulled from Lyle's neck – his only exposed part. She looked at the boy – young man – she had thought of as a brother all these years, he was still. Her eye found no source of heat; not even a small trace. Her eye told her he was dead. She hoped the Lyle she knew was dead long before this, because she didn't want to believe that he had turned into a true monster; he had erased every part of him that had made him Lyle. Looking at his metal body she thought of the day he had asked her to be a super hero with him...the day she had left. This was all that was left of their once upon a time...

AN: I'm sorry if anything isn't clear. I couldn't think of an interesting way to bring Blythe into the story as she's not THAT important to Alyce's storyline. Basically, Blythe and Alyce are twins (they don't look alike) and were split up at birth and hidden so that the rebels could put one of them on the throne. Blythe is the older twin, and therefore the first in line for the crown. Also, I'm sorry if it seems to jump around a little, but I'm not very good at balancing detail and dialogue (working on it!), so it might seem a little lacking in some areas...Hope that makes everything clear. Thanks and please review!


	6. Reboot, Rebuild, Return

AN: I had to edit the initial amount of time that Sophia says Alyce is missing to fit in with the rest of the timeline, so instead of 2 weeks, it's a week and a half (which equals 2 weeks at the end of her repair time frame). Hope that clears up any math errors on my part...Please review at the end even if it's just to say hello!

**Chapter Five: Reboot, Rebuild, Return**

_Year: 6508 Location: Unknown, on the planet Kyboeria._

_I wasn't sure what had happened to me. Fragments of ideas, memories, and pain coursed through my mind. I thought I was awake, but my left eye wasn't sending any signals to my brain. I couldn't feel anything - human or mechanical. I was simply a blank slate, wiped clean of any blemish or marking. While in my seemingly comatose state, I could feel someone watching me at times. Their eyes bored into me and I felt like gnats were dancing along my skin. It was truly irritating. However, the presence didn't feel threatening and so I didn't think there was any need to panic. I thought of Amy and the Doctor. Amy, my one friend...She must have been so worried about me. And the Doctor...what would he think? My mind drifted from the Doctor to Rory, and the amazed look on his face as I struggled to fend off Lyle. How could he have doubted where my allegiance aligned? I was a soldier of justice. During my time with the Doctor and his companions, I'd come to see them as much the same thing. It startled me - the light did - when my eyes finally awakened. There was so much to look at, and so much to tell...So tell I will...  
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Alyce's eyes fluttered as they adjusted to the bright white lights above. _What's going on?_ After four years of heavily relying on her electronic eye, Alyce felt blind and vulnerable. She couldn't see anything with her prosthetic eye and it wasn't responding to any of her commands. Movement at the far corner of the room, drew her human eye's attention. Someone was bent over a work bench, busying themselves. Slowly, Alyce attempted to sit up, but a dull pain in her head forced her back down. A small groan escaped her lips. The figure at the work space froze and turned around. Groggily Alyce's eye focused on the person's face...It was the woman from before - the one who she had knocked out, the one who had...stopped Lyle. _What's going on?_ She thought again, looking around for any clue as to where she was and why she was there.

"You should relax. Your human self is still mending." her voice was not small and timid like Alyce had first imagined. It was strong, and authoritative, but soft.

"Still mending?" Alyce asked the mysterious woman, "Where am I and what's going on? Why am I here?"

"I saved you from the Queen's monster and brought you to where they used to keep me. Don't worry though, the guards have long since fled. We're safe here. Your prostheses were badly damaged. I doubt you would have lasted the night by yourself. I couldn't just leave you there alone to die. After all, you freed me from my captors."

"I whacked you on the head," Alyce exclaimed, "...Maybe a little too hard?"

"My sanity is not in question." the woman stated, not humored by Alyce's joke, "Now, as I said, most of your prostheses were basically obliterated and were far from repairable...So I've been working on making you some new ones."

"New ones...What are you? Some kind of mad scientist?"

"Hardly. I specialize in high functioning technology. You're extremely lucky we met." she looked up from her task, "Which reminds me, my name is Sophia Mercury."

"Nice to meet you, I guess. I'm Alyce Esprit..." Alyce tried to sit up again, but she simply couldn't, "Why can't I sit upright?"

"The Queen's servant busted the hydraulic system in your back. It's taken me longer than I thought to figure out the formula for a more stable system that doesn't involve such finicky elements...so you'll have to remain where you are for now and trust me to do my job. In short, you have no spine at this moment." Sophia read Alyce's disbelieving face, "You're also missing your right leg from the thigh down, your right arm completely, your left hand, your left eye, and your left foot entirely. I'm working on repairing all that was destroyed and upgrading any weak programming."

"Why in all the stars are you doing this?"

"Because you freed me."

"Because I whacked the logic right out of you?" Alyce retorted.

"Perhaps, but I'd been under Jaliena's power for more than ten years. Doing her bidding and biding my time. Waiting for someone like you to help me escape." Sophia held up her project. Alyce was startled to see what she thought was a human hand, "I'm almost done with it. To others it will look and feel like the real thing. You'll have a wider array of movements with it - I made a program based on several hundred humans and every day motions they perform - and you'll have a higher level of control as well. I think you'll find you'll like it rather well." Alyce's eye stayed locked on the hand. To her it was everything - beautiful, inspiring, wondrous, and perfect. How could she have this stroke of luck...when poor, poor Lyle was lying dead somewhere in the Queen's solarium. Guilt crept into her heart.

"Thank you...I don't know what else to say."

"Say you'll let me come with you. I'll keep you upgraded and do all of your repairs." Sophia seemed desperate, "I have to get off this planet before it drives me mad!"

"I don't see any reason why you can't come along with me. I'm sure once you're done, I'll be able to find Amy and the Doctor quickly enough to finish putting the Princess...my sister...on the throne."

"Amy? You mean the orange haired girl?" Sophia's face lit up with worry.

"Yes. Her name is Amy Pond. She, her husband Rory, and the Doctor were with me in the solar when Lyle went on a rampage. She's got to be worried sick looking for me by now. She's my only friend and I don't want her to be concerned, when I'm alright..." Alyce trailed off when she saw Sophia's face, "What?"

"Alyce, they quit looking for you quite a while ago." Sophia whispered, "They'd given up hope of ever finding you."

"What? How do you know? How long have I been sleeping-"

"Not sleeping. Rebooting." Sophia interrupted, "I had to shut down your humanity receptors to keep you alive. You went into cardiac arrest and I couldn't keep you stable."

"And why didn't you tell them I was okay?" Alyce asked, her tone dripping with suspicion.

"I was working on keeping you alive day and night for three whole days. That was more than a week ago...in total you've** been missing for about a week and a half."**

"Two weeks! But they need me! Fix me now so I can go to them!" Alyce yelled, "Hurry up and put some parts on me, so I'm able to move."

Sophia sighed and put the hand down, "It doesn't work that way and you know it, Alyce. Not just any part is going to work for you...You're not like the others - I know you know it's true. They're all controlled by the machine. But you? You're in charge of it. You decide when, what and how it does things. Do you know how extremely rare that is? People like you don't even exist anymore. Little by little, the machine has taken over every cyborg...you know that. That's why you feared them. Studied them. You wanted to know how to beat them."

"How do you know that?"

"Memory block in your eye. It burst while I was trying to save it." Sophia pulled back the sleeve of her starched white shirt, "I got quite a shock. Your eye was defending you while your human sentience was vulnerable. I didn't realize that you had bonded so strongly with your prostheses. You've got a gift, girl. Very, very few cyborgs ever even agree with their non-human halves, let alone bond with them. You're truly amazing."

"...Thank you. I'm sorry I yelled at you. I'm just so afraid that someone might be hurt."

"I've been watching them from the tower. They're still looking for Jaliena. She's disappeared, like she changed her image almost." Sophia informed her.

"Speaking of changing images. All of my friends thought you were a giant, spotted cat. Why?"

Sophia pulled a large, metallic object out of her apron. It was a worn, bronze hexagon. It looked battered and flickered a deep red light from one of the six bulbs on the edges. In the middle were three buttons, one yellow, one blue, and one green. It hung on a platinum chain from her belt and she kept it tucked in her apron pocket.

"Do you know what this is?" Alyce shook her head no, wishing her eye could tell her, "It's a perception filter...only I've tweaked it quite a bit." _Perception filter? The Doctor mentioned something about those..._

"What does it do?" Alyce felt her curiosity peak.

"It changes how everyone sees me. But for me, mine does more than that. I've installed language and posturing programs in it as well. It will automatically translate whatever I say into a language - human, animal or otherwise - automatically to fit in with whatever illusion I choose. People will see not only a cat, but a cat doing cat things, moving like a cat, sitting like a cat, grooming itself like a cat regardless of what I'm actually doing. Each of these little lights corresponds to a preloaded image. I use these three buttons like a security lock. If I want to change forms, I input the correct code. If I want to appear as myself, I simply input whatever code I used backwards. Codes that use an illusion always end with a green, codes that are returning me to my proper self always end in yellow."

"Oh so that explains why they saw you as a cat, but I saw you as a woman! My eye saw through the illusion." Alyce looked at the device gleefully. How fun it would be to use!

"But there's one problem. You see I wasn't born here on Kyboeria. I'm from another planet known as Galdur. I am a human being, but we're not like your friends Amy and Rory. They aren't as advanced technologically as the Galdurians are. Anyways, about ten years ago I fell through a portal I was trying to repair. It sent me here and when the Queen saw me, looking like a huge, ferocious cat, she had her cyborgs capture me."

"Why couldn't they see that you were a human? The cyborgs I mean. And why didn't you just turn off the perception filter?"

"Well, when I fell through the portal, Rasputin - my perception filter - got damaged and I haven't found anything that will restore him yet...So I'm stuck looking like a giant feline until I find the right materials. As for the cyborgs, they don't have your eye. Your eye is unique. Because you are so bonded to it, you rely on its readings, meaning when you looked at me both of your _eyes_ might have said cat, but the scanner in your left eye said woman and you believed it because you so fully trusted it's reports. I've never seen another do what you can."

A half a week later found Alyce becoming accustomed to her newly repaired body. What shocked her the most was how realistic it was. Like she was completely human. Even her back had new flesh, or as Sophia called her body's new casing, 'Esper'. It melded perfectly with her own skin. She couldn't believe how amazing Sophia's work was. She looked nothing like the scary cyborg she had been only a few weeks ago. Even her eye was back in a real socket.

"Do be careful, Alyce. We don't have time for any more repairs..." Sophia urged as Alyce worked on testing the full extent of her left hand's strength. Sophia had her twisting and bending different metals and alloys into shapes, after using her newly upgraded eye - made from the remains of her previous one - to identify composition materials.

"Sophia, I think I'm ready to find them." Alyce claimed as she struggled to bend a length of titanium in two.

"Alright, enough. I'm sure that the Iridium will hold for many, many years." Sophia patted Alyce's leg as she propped them up on the counter, "The only thing denser is Osmium...and I'm fairly sure no other cyborg has that in them."

Alyce couldn't contain her eagerness any longer. She'd waited four more days after waking up, following all of Sophia's instructions. Dying to know if the Doctor and her friends were alright. Sophia had explained that after the raid on the palace, the Queen and a hand full of guards had fled and were currently in hiding. The rebels had taken the palace, but it was disorganized and no one could be sure just were everyone else was. Sadly, that included the Doctor, Amy and Rory. Still, Alyce was determined to find them. She'd been rebuilt and was ready to return...

AN: Galdur is Icelandic for "magic"...appropriate as Sophia seems to do "magic" with technology, gizmos and gadgets. And in case anyone was wondering, Sophia looks basically like a snow leopard to everyone but Alyce. Rasputin has six sides one light on each side, hope that was clear. An esper is a person with extrasensory powers, which Sophia seems to think Alyce has in her link with technology.


	7. Eye of the Storm

AN: I'd just like to point out before going any further, that if you haven't noticed I'm not British. So to everyone who really speaks English, I'm really sorry for any future misuse of words such as blimey, bugger, and crusty dragon ;) I don't mean to offend anyone! This story will only be 12 chapters long, including the prologue and epilogue, but if you like it (and haven't been reviewing -.-) I'll be writing a sequel with more of a romance plot to it (nothing too graphic, as it's kind of awkward to type let alone let someone else read xDD)...so anyways, review and let me know if you like it or not...And don't think I haven't seen how many lurkers there are!

**Chapter Six: Eye of the Storm**

_Year: 6508 Location: Upper east side of city, Kyboeria._

_When we escaped that day - from Alyce's brother, Lyle - I was afraid Alyce would be killed. I was so terrified that one of the rebel scouts would return to us and tell us they had found her body. After a rocky beginning and a slow middle to our friendship, this was certainly not how I wanted it to end. There was something about the whole situation that felt off to me, but I wasn't sure what it was. I'd never seen anyone, aside from the doctor, be so selfless. As though she thought she needed to atone for something. Surely what the Queen had said about her family - families - couldn't be true! Alyce was too amazing to be thought of as second rate! I had learned that myself just a few weeks before. After three days, I was becoming discouraged. Still I kept looking, hoping she was holed up somewhere nursing some minor wounds. She wasn't. She wasn't in the solarium either. She just...wasn't. It was as if she never existed, much like when the Doctor leaves in the TARDIS. Despite my growing despair, I was furious when Rory and the Doctor cornered me and forced me to agree to stop actively searching. We 'had more important things to do.' How could they ask me to simply abandon her? It seemed like she was being kicked again and again, not able to fully recover. There was still plenty do to while looking for Alyce, and so I'll tell you how I coped with the loss of my new found friend..._

"Amy, stop pouting. I'm sure she's out there somewhere," Rory tried to sooth his wife for the umpteenth time, "Maybe she's with some of the others. We all got mixed up in the raid that day. Even you and I got separated for a few hours."

"It doesn't help that Doctor quit looking for her!" Amy cried, "I was just getting her to trust me and now look! We've gone and abandoned her to her fate! Alone!"

"Oh come on, Amy," Rory ran his hand through his hair, "It's not that bad! I'll bet she's searching for us right now too!" She knew he was only looking out for her, the same as the Doctor. Still, it rankled her that they didn't seem to care that Alyce was no where to be found. Alyce, who had saved them from what would have been a grisly death. Alyce, who had hurt someone she loved for the greater good. Who could walk away from that kind of dedication?...Apparently her husband and her best friend. Albeit they did have a good point; Jaliena was on the move and every day they didn't catch her was another day for her to grow stronger amongst the chaos.

All around her, revolutionaries where making history. Amy pulled herself to her feet, releasing a hefty puff of breath. Nothing could be done for anyone if she just sat around moping and wishing for chocolates and butterflies. She had to make this right herself. Watching Rory and the Doctor's backs retreat to the nearest group of Princess Blythe's supporters, Amy steeled herself for what she was about to do. The only people she ever risked anything for were the Doctor and Rory...It was time to break the mold. Stealthily, Amy sunk into the shadows of the nearby buildings and crawled along the grimy walls. At the first alley she came too, she took one last glance back before plunging into the darkness.

Weldon was beside himself with fury and concern. On the one hand, Alyce was missing – something that wasn't really a surprise. What bothered him was that she hadn't contacted him in two entire weeks. _Two whole weeks! Who the devil does she think she is? _He slammed his fist on the table, startling two nearby resistance warriors. Unable to stand the silence around him, he stood and strode from the room. He was determined to find out what had happened to her, and once he had found her, he was going to tell her the truth. _The whole truth, _he corrected himself. The night was darker than usual, as no one in the entire city dared to turn even the tiniest of lights on, for fear of drawing the wrong attention.

Weldon yanked his communicator from his coat pocket and searched for Alyce's signal. After hundreds of attempts to find her, he didn't understand why he had bothered to even look at the minute monitor. To his surprise and joy, he saw a blip on the radar and calmly brought up the co-ordinance. After two weeks, was he finally going to be reunited with his charge? He surely missed the sometimes surly, always honest cyborg. She tried harder than any man he'd ever known and was more kind than any woman he'd had the luxury to cross paths with. _I know you're out there, Alyce Esprit. It's time I found you...and you found the truth. No more lies, no more secrets. I swear I'll give you the whole story, from beginning to end – just so long as you're alright._ Arming himself with a small arsenal, Weldon went in search of his almost-daughter.

"Doctor," Rory's voice cracked with fear, "have you seen Amy?"

Doctor looked up from his thoughts, and caught sight of his ill-looking friend, "Amy? No. I figured she'd be with you..."

"Well – and I can't believe I'm not happy to say this," Rory muttered, and then lifted his voice, "For once, you figured wrong."

The Doctor leaned forward, resting his chin on his knuckles, "When's the last time you saw her?"

"Uh, earlier today. We had a bit of a...a tiff."

"A tiff?" Doctor raised his eyebrows, "What's that? When lovers can't decide if they're tickled or miffed?"

"We had a fight." Rory ground out, not a bit amused.

"Of course you did."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"What? Oh, nothing." he went back to the original issue, "So she was here earlier. Did you see her run off?"

"No..." Rory said, "I told her not to worry and she said she felt guilty."

"Guilty about what," Doctor asked moving to peer out a filthy window, "exactly?"

"Well, Alyce. She said she'd only just begun her friendship, and already she was...uh," Rory combed his mind for the right word, "Abandoning her. Said she was guilty about abandoning Alyce to her fate. Alone."

"Oh blimey. Why is it that you humans have to become oh so noble at the most inopportune points in history?" Doctor complained, his mind racing for an answer to finding not only Amy, but the brave cyborg as well.

"Human nature?" Rory offered, not sure what else to say.

"Exactly! Faulty wiring, you lot have!" Doctor clapped Rory on the shoulder, before crossing the room the door. He walked out, along the sidewalk to the TARDIS, and unlocked it. Rory trailed behind, still unsure what was happening. Suddenly the Doctor stopped and Rory crashed into him, "Faulty breaks you must have too!"

Inside the TARDIS, Doctor busied himself jerking levers and mashing buttons in hope of finding his goal. On the screen different images focused, only to be knocked off by another. Rory stood watching as pictures of a bomb exploding, a woman crying, a little boy grinning, and a bubble popping zipped by.

"Doctor, what exactly are you doing?"

"I'm sending out a signal to Alyce. Hopefully, if she's alive, she'll pick them up. It's a distress signal so to speak. But not for us. For her. You know, so she'll find us. Like we do with the TARDIS." Doctor hurried around the console, and spun the monitor into his view, "Ah there we go. Not an inch on this planet my girl's signal can't reach. We'll find Alyce – if she's alive, of course...or maybe if she's dead she'll reanimate and follow the signal here? We wouldn't want to be making zombies. Can't have that, nope, sure can't – and if we find Alyce she'll take us to Amy."

Rory's face contorted oddly as he struggled to follow the Doctor's train of thought, "How is Alyce supposed to take us to Amy?"

"Because, she knows Amy's heat signature. I saw her program it into that _craaaazy_ eye of hers when we first met."

Amy tucked herself behind a large barrel, holding her breath until she thought she'd pass out. Thinking back, it had been stupid of her to leave unarmed and unaware of enemy territory. This was the sixth time she'd almost been spotted. She'd have to find Alyce soon or turn back. Dawn was coming and Amy was sure she wasn't stealthy enough to navigate enemy terrain in the sunlight. She sucked in breath as the pair of sentries passed her hiding place again. As soon as they were out of sight, she darted across the path and into the next alley. Amy could see the palace rising up above the city, a monument to torment and tyranny. It's once glimmering metallic panels had become coated in a dingy layer of grime. She'd seen the palace in its full glory, curtsey of Alyce's eye. _I'm going to ask her to show me everything she's ever recorded once I find her! I regret not looking at those maps she had..._

Weldon's brow furrowed as he looked at the communicator. It's screen was glitching and he was having difficulty reading Alyce's signal. Kyboeria's twin suns were rising up over the city. He could feel the morning growing tense as the scanner showed there was something amiss. There wasn't a sound in the city. Parents had their children locked away in houses, and adults scurried to and from work like frightened rats. Weldon knew if they didn't perform Blythe's crowning ceremony soon, Kyboeria would fall. In his heart, he pictured the days before Jaliena had become the queen. The good days full of peace, prosperity, and hard, fulfilling work. Where had those days gone? An impatient sigh slipped from his mouth as he shook the communicator, hoping it would clear the signal. After a moment of no results, the device resumed leading Weldon to his young charge. Doubt cloaked each step he took, as he tried to predict how Alyce would react to the truth he had kept from her for so long. How could anyone live their entire life as a lie, only to find out that the side they were fighting for had done something just as terrible as the enemy? He grunted and tossed the question from his mind. He had to find her first, before he could even think of telling her anything. For the time being, they were all safe, in the eye of the storm...

Blythe Esprit glanced up as her captain entered the room. The men gathered along the table's edge parted for him.

"Has she been found?" Blythe asked directly, not bothering with formalities. She'd have plenty of time for that once the throne was secured and the planet stabilized.

"No, my lady. We've got all available men hunting her down now." he answered with a short bow.

"Obviously we need to make more men available then, Captain." Blythe commented, "We only have 21 hours to locate her and perform the ceremony. If we fail, Captain, the entire planet will rupture, creating a black hole. And when that happens, it will completely encompass the Mysteria galaxy. That _cannot _happen, do you understand?"

The captain nodded and quickly left to gather more men. Blythe suddenly felt heavy, and tired. She'd prepared her whole life for this; studied and trained to be a queen and a politician for years. _So why do I feel so inadequate?_

"Alyce, sit still. We're not done synthesizing the program." Sophia squeezed Alyce's wrist, indicating her wish for Alyce to remain seated, "Your prostheses won't function right without them. They'll only do the basic tasks. Nothing compared to what you want to accomplish."

"I feel useless, sitting on my ass doing _nothing_. Of course I don't want to sit still!" Alyce whined, "They're out there, trying to dethrone a villain and here I am – Alyce purveyor of truth and justice – sitting still. I'm sure they'll tell tales about me, the Warrior who Wouldn't they'll call me."

"Oh stop being so dramatic and let me do my work!" Sophia laughed, "Besides, the more I finish now, the less I'll have to do later when you're back with your friends. You'll be able to do anything you want once I finish this up. Only a few more hours, what more can that hurt?"

Alyce rolled her eyes and leaned back in the chair, "Nothing except my pride."


	8. Not Quite Her

AN: Just a quick note for all you science buffs out there...I'm not a science buff, so do be kind when reading this...I don't know anything about metals (which I read about online...I've done waaay to much sci-fi and chemistry research these past few days -.-) and I am only using names of metals that I know off the top of my head...Sorry for any inaccuracies this might cause, if it bothers you drop me the name of some material that would make sense! Please enjoy and review, I'm begging you!...And yeah, sorry that note was so long xD

**Chapter Seven: Not Quite Her**

_Year: 6508 Location: Grand Palace, Kyboeria_

_I was finally ready. More than ready. I was chaffing at the bit, itching to run full out until I found my friends and completed our mission. Sophia warned me that one of her devices was giving astronomical readings on the planet's destabilization rate. We only had 12 hours to find my companions, find and dethrone Jaliena, and complete Blythe's coronation...Blythe who I had yet to actually meet...Blythe my sister, who probably knew as much about me as I did her – if that. I held on to the hope that Weldon, Amy, Rory, and the Doctor had all made it through the past two weeks. My last day on Kyboeria was complicated, painful, joyful, sad, nostalgic, and confusing. There is much to be told about the last few hours of the tyrant queen's reign, and so tell I will..._

"Are you ready to leave?" Alyce asked Sophia as she clasped the hooks on her bag, "If your readings are correct, this whole planet is going to implode on itself, leaving a black hole...which means we've only got 12 hours to do the impossible."

Sophia looked up, "Haven't you figured it out yet, Alyce?"

"What?" Alyce stopped moving and scrunched her face in confusion, "Figured what out?"

"_You're_ the impossible, Alyce. Just by standing there, doing nothing, and being Alyce, you're doing the unimaginable. I told you, there hasn't been a cyborg in the galaxy that's been able to do what you can. Your gift is going to win this war and save the day...and all the days to come after that." Sophia grasped Alyce's arms, "All you have to do is trust yourself. Everything's going to turn out alright."

"Are you sure I didn't hit you too hard?" Alyce asked with sarcasm, "I'm not that amazing, Soph. I just run around and do my thing. Half the time I'm plain lucky. No magic hoo-ha or spirit fingers. Just me, a cyborg with a chip on her shoulder...Now let's move."

Sohpia stopped her at the door, "Wait. Take these. I found them and fixed them awhile back...I didn't know if I'd ever see a day when I'd need one...but it's best we try to stay alive."

The guns Sophia handed Alyce were complex, and made of a heavy tungsten alloy. The first weapon was a handgun, much heavier than a normal human could safely control. For Alyce, the weight made a nice balance in her hand. The other gun was the size of her torso and _much_ heavier. It had a strap that connected to both the butt and the left side of the muzzle, which Alyce slung over her shoulder.

"They fire 4mA rounds," Sophia explained, "Enough to stun, but not to kill."

"Who makes a gun that doesn't kill?" Alyce asked inspecting her handgun.

"I did. I told you I fiddled with them awhile back. I had originally made them for myself, and I had no intention of killing any more people. There's always a choice, Alyce – to be cruel or to be merciful. That's the difference between a person and a monster. Kindness and malice, simple as that." Sophia picked up her bags and walked past Alyce, "And, your Doctor friend will think that much more of you when you spare lives instead of taking them...won't he?"

_She has a point..._, Alyce followed after Sophia. She was glad that Sophia seemed to keep everything she came across and finished tasks at the speed of light. Shortly after her body was repaired, one of her first retraining sessions was dressing herself – a lot harder than one would think. Sophia had supplied Alyce with an odd assembly of clothing.

_:: Alyce apparelled herself in a fitted, black bolero jacket that buttoned along it's stiff, upright collar. Underneath she wore a similarly cropped cream camisole. Sophia had tried to give Alyce a full length skirt she had scrounged from one of the many palace rooms, but she refused to wear it until Sophia had removed an immodest amount of the front._

_Sophia gave her a pointed look at her request. Alyce turned back from the full length mirror, the long trail of the dress' swishing behind her._

"_What?" She asked, "I might need to run. And if I do, I want to look smashing – while dashing – which I can't do if I trip and break my face on the floor!" Sophia didn't answer, only took the dress' new measurements, Alyce's height, and the now unused portion of the dress. When she returned she brought with her something that Alyce had never seen before._

"_What in all the stars is that?" she watched as Sophia unfolded the strange articles of clothing._

"_You're a young, unattached lady. It's not decent of you to gallivant around saving the world in naught but your under-things! I already agreed to your ridiculous idea of a shirt. You'll be wearing these leggings whether or not you like them. And I made them out of some old belts," Sophia handed her the black leggins and two leather straps with buckles on the ends, "They'll keep the leggings on, so you're not so exposed."_

"_Soph, I had no idea you were such a stickler for propriety...However did you manage all these years?" Alyce asked as she hiked the garments up her legs to mid-thigh._

"_Why do you think I want to get off this heathen planet? It's a den of iniquity, for star-shine's light!" Sophia straightened her spine, "I was once a renowned scientist–"_

"_I knew you were a mad scientist! I knew it!" Alyce interrupted, as she pulled on what Sophia called Victorian lace ups._

"_I'm not a mad scientist and you're lacing those incorrectly. Here, I'll show you. But only once. After that you're on your own." she reached for Alyce's foot as she knelt down._

"_Yes, mother." Alyce gave her friend a cheeky grin. ::_

Alyce smiled as her eye played back the memory privately – a new perk that Sophia had installed in her eye's programming. She tailed Sophia, who knew the palace better than anyone else. They rushed through corridors and halls, down to courtyard and out of the main gates. No one stopped them, no one even seemed to notice them – the heavily armed human-looking cyborg and the giant spotted cat – as they quit the palace and began their search.

"Where to first, Sophia? The city is huge and they could be anywhere." Alyce spun in a circle trying to decide which direction.

"Think, Alyce, if you were the Queen were would you go?"

"I don't know!"

"Yes, you do. You just have to think about it hard enough. You have to want it hard enough!" Sophia urged.

"I said, I don't know dammit! What didn't you understand?"

"Why are you being defensive about this?" Sophia's asked, worried, "You can do this. You're Alyce, and you're amazing!"

"I'm sorry...It just, ever since I woke up, I've felt odd. I mean, _look_ at me! I don't look like a cyborg anymore. It's like I woke up and the Alyce I was before the fire was back. Like suddenly all the bad things that have happened, leading up to this moment just disappeared. I don't feel like the Alyce everyone is expecting to save the day...I'm, well, I'm not quite her. I don't think I can do what you're asking..."

"You know this city, every single inch of it, as though it were your own kingdom. You played here a child, caused mischief as an adolescent...and now you are here to bring justice to an evil queen as an adult. You know where she is, whether you realize it or not. You _can_ save your home, Alyce." Sophia squeezed her friend's shoulder encouragingly, "And you are her – the Alyce before the fire – as well as the Alyce after. No single event in you life is going to define who you are for all eternity. Each event changes you, shapes you into who you are. I believe in you."

"Yeah, no pressure." Alyce huffed.

"If you were the Queen, where would you go? Your forces are scattered, depleted, and your stronghold has been over run. Where would you go?"

"Somewhere well defended, with limited access. Excellent fields of vision on each side. Somewhere that is close enough to monitor the enemy, but not to draw attention. A place with plenty of provisions..." Alyce's mind raced through maps of the city – maps she had committed to memory as a child years ago.

"Is there such a place, Alyce?" Sophia watched Alyce sort out the puzzle.

"Yes." her voice was triumphant and strong, "Yes, there is! The old ship loading yard. Jaliena shut it down years ago and turned it into a storage yard. The military keeps their food reserves there and it's also used as a shelter in times of crisis! I went there once as a little girl, when an asteroid hit the far side of the city!"

"How clever you are." Sophia praised, "I knew my faith was well placed. Now, the next question is...Do we go after the Queen or find our allies?"

"We need to find our allies. Jaliena may be reeling from the palace raid, but she's still got enough venom and hatred in her to kill a few of her least favorite people. We need to look for Weldon or Blythe..."

"Not the answer I expected. Weldon or Blythe?" Sophia's confusion was apparent.

"Weldon is – was – my mentor and Blythe is my sister, the queen to be. With their help we'll be able to find Jaliena in time to save Kyboeria." Alyce took a quick reading of the twin suns, "I'd say we have about 9 hours to put Blythe on the throne. As much as I miss my friends, they won't do me any good if the planet's sucking the entire galaxy into oblivion."

"I'm glad I'm not yer enemy, Alyce Esprit." the deep male voice startled both women. Sophia jumped and whirled around, her leopard illusion hissing. Alyce brought her stun rifle up, her finger finding the trigger in a fraction of a second. To her utter surprise she found none other than Weldon, grinning like a rogue.

"Weldon, you devil! Where have you been? I haven't seen you since I left the Amaranda Maree during the raid..." Alyce cried and rushed forward to embrace him. He held her back at arms length a moment to take in the sight of her.

"Ye don't look nothin' like the lassie I knew! Ye went and grew up and I didn't even notice all these years!" Weldon's gaze aligned with Alyce's, "And ye don't look like a cyborg...What miracle is this?"

"That would be Sophia's work." Alyce motioned to the cat behind her, "She's amazing, Weldon!"

"I'd say." his eyes widening, "I'd say yer slam loony if ye expect me to believe _the cat_ did all this!"

"Oh! Oh, right! She's not a cat, it's a perception filter...that went slightly haywire. Sophia Mercury, meet Sir Weldon. He was my mentor as a young girl. He crafted my original prostheses. Weldon, Sophia was one of Jaliena's captives."

"Er...it's, uh, nice to meet ye, Sophia." Weldon started to extend his hand, but then decided to wave. Sophia flicked her tail in turn, "Now, I heard ye say ye found our missing Queen?"

AN: Alyce's larger gun looks a lot like an Enfield L85A1...just if you wanted to know. The smaller one looks more like a Lancastor four-barrel pistol – however they're both much more hi-tech and spacey xD Alyce's outfit is basically neo-victorian (steampunk), type in 'ladies steampunk' and 'victorian lace ups' in google image to find some examples.


End file.
